Recent data indicates that YouTube users are increasingly engaging with long-form videos, even as the platform promotes its short-form feature Shorts. A study by Digital i found that the average U.S. YouTube viewer now spends 8% more time watching long-form videos compared to October 2023.
Key findings
As of October 2024, 73% of YouTube watch time in the U.S. is dedicated to videos longer than 30 minutes. This marks a significant increase from the previous year, where 58% of content viewed on mobile devices by 18-24-year-olds was long-form, rising to 79% by October 2024.
The uptick in long-form content consumption coincides with a slight decline in short-form viewership, suggesting a changing preference among users.
Shorts is still growing
Despite this trend, YouTube Shorts continues to experience substantial growth. Since its launch in 2021, Shorts has averaged over 70 billion daily views. The platform’s introduction of revenue sharing for Shorts has further fueled its expansion, with more than 25% of YouTube Partner Program channels now earning through this feature.
These trends highlight the appeal of in-depth content on YouTube, even amid the platform’s efforts to promote shorter videos. For creators, this means they need to maintain a diverse content strategy that includes both long-form and short-form videos to cater to different audience preferences. Creators can maximize their success by diversifying their content. While short-form content has been on the rise over the past few years, this study suggests there’s still a massive market for long-form content on YouTube. It’s possible the rise in livestreaming has contributed to the interest in long-form content as well, though this hasn’t been confirmed by the data.